Louisville Family Law®

International Custody Issues

International Child Custody Issues

Louis Paz Winner - "Louisville Family Law®"

While relocation following divorce can be quite common, relocating to a
foreign country adds further complications to an already challenging process.
International custody cases are difficult, factually complex and often
emotionally volatile. There are no special rules or laws on an international
relocation case in Kentucky. Procedurally, an international custody case
works in the same manner as any other custody case. However, the results
— if a child is allowed to move to another county — are often
heartbreaking to one side.

Preventing Child Abduction Overseas

One of the issues that can arise in contested
relocation cases is that of child abduction, where one parent removes the child from
his or her home state and takes the child to a foreign country without
the written consent of the other party or the order of the Court.

In an international abduction case, the Hague Convention can provide for
an immediate return of a child who is taken from this country to a foreign
county. However, not all of the countries in the world are members to
the Hague Convention. The majority are European counties, and a few counties
in South America, Africa, and Israel. In many cases, even when a country
is a member of the Hague Convention, it can be difficult to force that
country to comply with the terms of the convention. In the situation where
a parent abducts a child to a non-member country it can be very difficult,
if not impossible, to enforce a custody order from Kentucky or any other
state in the United States.

Contact Attorney Louis Winner for more information on how to protect your parental rights against child
abduction or to discuss your international child custody concerns.